š OpenAI Unveils Sora 2, Former OpenAI VP Launches Periodic Labs, Apple Halts Vision Pro Plan, Thinking Machines Ships Tinker, ChatGPT Introduces Instant Checkout
Deepfake Yourself, Fun Style, AI Scientists Get Physical, Goodbye Goggle Dreams, Train Models by Magic, Buy Stuff While Chatting
Welcome to this weekās edition of AImpulse, a five point summary of the most significant advancements in the world of Artificial Intelligence.
Hereās the pulse on this weekās top stories:
1. OpenAI Launches Sora 2 + Social App
OpenAI just dropped Sora 2, its latest video model, now with synchronized audio + dialogue, and paired it with a new social app built around āCameos,ā where users can insert themselves into AI-generated scenes.
Whatās new:
Outputs now run 5ā10 seconds, with better physics + complex scene transitions.
Generates realistic dialogue + sound effects synced to visuals.
Cameos let users record their likeness and remix into videos.
App launches free (U.S./Canada), Pro tier unlocks Sora 2 Pro + API access.
Why it matters: Sora 2 edges us further into the uncanny valley with storytelling power thatās hard to ignore. Meanwhile, Cameos could be the next viral AI toy, the real question is whether the novelty lasts long enough to build a durable social platform.
Further reading: https://venturebeat.com/ai/openai-debuts-sora-2-ai-video-generator-app-with-sound-and-self-insertion
2. Liam Fedusā Periodic Labs Launches
ChatGPT co-creator Liam Fedus unveiled Periodic Labs, a startup building AI scientists that learn from real-world experiments instead of internet text, backed by $300M funding at a $1B valuation.
The plan:
Build autonomous labs where robots run thousands of materials experiments.
Generate gigabytes of unique data per trial to guide future work.
Early focus: superconductors + chip manufacturing efficiency.
Team includes 20+ researchers from OpenAI, DeepMind, Meta.
Why it matters: While some fear AI is just fueling a ācontent slopā era, Periodic Labs aims for world-changing scientific discovery. By marrying AI with physical experimentation, theyāre betting this is the real frontier for progress.
Further reading: https://www.investing.com/news/company-news/former-openai-vp-launches-ai-startup-periodic-labs--bloomberg-93CH-4083865
3. Apple Cancels Vision Pro Overhaul, Focuses on Glasses
Bloomberg reports Apple has canceled a cheaper Vision Pro model once targeted for 2027, reassigning teams to build AI smart glasses aimed squarely at Metaās Ray-Ban lineup.
The pivot:
Vision Pro light variant is dead; teams are fast-tracking glasses projects.
2027 glasses will tether to iPhone; another model will have its own display.
Features: voice + AI controls, cameras, speakers, health tracking powered by new Siri.
Meta expanded its lineup in September with Display, Neural Band, Oakley collab, Ray-Bans Gen 2.
Why it matters: The Vision Pro hype cycle feels like ages ago. But the market is moving fast, Meta has traction, and Apple needs Siriās AI reboot to prove it belongs in AI wearables.
Further reading: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-halts-vision-pro-overhaul-focus-ai-glasses-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-10-01/
4. Mira Muratiās Tinker API Debuts
Ex-OpenAI CTO Mira Murati and her team at Thinking Machines Lab unveiled Tinker, an API to make customizing frontier models far easier for developers.
How it works:
Supports fine-tuning via supervised + RL methods on Llama, Qwen, and more.
Adapt models to solve math, analyze chemistry, or handle specialized data.
Used by Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley to build AI for math proofs + scientific reasoning.
Early access opens today (free), with paid tiers coming soon.
Why it matters: Building giant models is costly. Murati is betting the future lies in specialization at scale, who can empower developers to spin up endless hyper-niche models the fastest.
Further reading: https://venturebeat.com/ai/thinking-machines-first-official-product-is-here-meet-tinker-an-api-for
5. OpenAI Adds Instant Checkout in ChatGPT
OpenAI rolled out Instant Checkout for U.S. users, letting people shop and pay directly inside ChatGPT.
The setup:
Powered by Stripe, starting with Etsy sellers, expanding to 1M+ Shopify stores.
Users see a āBuyā button, confirm details, pay, all in-chat.
Built on the open-source Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP).
OAI takes a merchant fee but keeps product rankings organic.
Why it matters: This is a big step toward agentic AI commerce, where assistants donāt just suggest but transact. Instant Checkout gives OpenAI a new revenue stream and positions ChatGPT as a potential shopping platform rivaling marketplaces.
Take a look: https://openai.com/index/buy-it-in-chatgpt/